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What will enter the public domain in 2024?

publicdomainreview.org

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Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#131

Post by eikenberry »

jawns wrote: post #58
sirodoht wrote: post #56

What if we didn't wait for things to enter the public domain but instead they were born right into it? I have started a book publishing company that publishes new, public domain books only: https://laniakeabooks.org/

How do authors make a living by giving away all their work for free?

Authors don't make a living from their work now. I've known many authors and they all do it as a side gig.. to promote their career while making a few extra bucks. None of them were even close to doing it for a living.

If you want to encourage writing you'll need a different system than copyright.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#132

Post by galangalalgol »

mod50ack wrote: post #13
dry_soup wrote: post #9

So the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973, will enter the public domain in New Zealand (and other countries) next year? Or do they not, as he presumably published his works in the UK? Or they enter the public domain in New Zealand et al. but not in other countries?

In Life+50 countries, they'll enter the public domain. In the UK and other Life+70 countries, they won't.

So can they host the Gutenberg project in NZ then? There is no feasible way for people to prevent people from downloading the hobbit. They couldn't stop music or movie downloads except by adopting a subscription model that effectively reduced the prices. These files are tiny and the ethical case against it is so much harder to make.

Edit: also, these are the sorts of books that don't get lumped into subscriptions and are often missing from digital libraries.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#133

Post by wonger_ »

yk wrote: post #3

The mouse via Steamboat Willie is scheduled to enter public domain? Guess we can look forward to quite eventful three weeks before the end of the year, while Disney is frantically trying to prevent that outcome.

The MSCHF art collective had a project a few years ago based on this public domain timing: https://mschfxfamousmouse.com/

> We are making and selling the idea of a MSCHF “Famous Mouse” artwork now, that will not exist–even as a design–until 2024. If you purchase this artwork, we give you a temporary token with a unique code that can be redeemed for the actual piece in 3 years.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#134

Post by medler »

c0pium wrote: post #99
sirodoht wrote: post #56

What if we didn't wait for things to enter the public domain but instead they were born right into it? I have started a book publishing company that publishes new, public domain books only: https://laniakeabooks.org/

Have you spoken with lawyers about this idea? At least in the United States, that’s not how copyright or public domain works. One does not need to apply for copyright to receive one, and there is no mechanism for renouncing copyright. There is a belief held by some that copyright, like many other rights, can be renounced however that theory has never been tested in court and there are several dissenting opinions from…

OP’s company is based in the UK, so I was curious if the UK had stronger mechanisms for renouncing copyright. According to this source[1], they do not: “Under United Kingdom law, the availability of [copyright] abandonment is far from clear, and statements purporting to abandon copyright may be interpreted as mere revocable licenses.”

(I don’t mean to suggest that OP’s company is doing anything wrong. I assume they’re up to speed on the legal environment and are doing the right things to ensure their works are perpetually available. I just thought this was interesting).

[1] https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?ar...

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#135

Post by SirMaster »

lazycouchpotato wrote: post #129
SirMaster wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disney spent the last decade or so growing their business (through large acquisitions) to where Mickey is now just small fraction of their worth. So they likely don't really care anymore. Plus it's only the old, old design of Mickey, not the current version they have been using for awhile that looks more normal to most people these days.

There's a video by Corridor Crew that goes over exactly what you mentioned. https://youtu.be/u2dIvUAd5QE

Yeah, What I wrote came from that really. I should have mentioned it.

I mean it's a compelling breakdown IMO.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#137

Post by skissane »

galangalalgol wrote: post #132
mod50ack wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Life+50 countries, they'll enter the public domain. In the UK and other Life+70 countries, they won't.

So can they host the Gutenberg project in NZ then? There is no feasible way for people to prevent people from downloading the hobbit. They couldn't stop music or movie downloads except by adopting a subscription model that effectively reduced the prices. These files are tiny and the ethical case against it is so much harder to make. Edit: also, these are the sorts of books that don't get lumped into subscriptions and…

> So can they host the Gutenberg project in NZ then?

There is already an Australian branch of Project Gutenberg, which hosts some works which (for complex/obscure legal reasons) are still under copyright in the US but now public domain in Australia (e.g. the works of George Orwell). I don’t think there is a New Zealand equivalent, but I’m sure if someone was sufficiently motivated it could happen

https://gutenberg.net.au/

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#138

Post by bazoom42 »

resolutebat wrote: post #82
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that would first of all take a lot of work to make it absolutely clear, a lot of work to use the mouse, and finally a lot of work to fight the lawsuits until it was established that you didn't violate and could do what you were doing. In short nobody but a crazy person or someone with a real deep artistic need that absolutely required that version of Mickey to work would ever pursue it.

It took one year from Winnie the Pooh entering the public domain to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh:_Blood_and_Hon... And AFAIK they were not sued, despite being ever so slightly off brand for Disney.

Plenty of Disney characters like Snow White or Cinderella have been public domain all the time without it hurting Disney.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2024?

#140

Post by playingalong »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #64

Actually pretty exciting for books. Agatha Christie, W.E.B. DuBois, Evelyn Waugh, Nabokov, D.H. Lawrence, H.G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, and A.A. Milne all have books entering in 2024. And a Brecht play (The Threepenny Opera - one of his best, at that), and a Eugene O'Neill (Strange Interlude)!

Not trying to contest, just asking...

Brecht died in 1956, so +70 years (as per German law) would be end of 2026, right?

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